Italian

One of my favorite meals growing up was my mom's version of spagetti and meatballs. However, my mom's version didn't involve meatballs, it was all about the fabulous meat sauce she made. The secret to the sauce was the cinnamon she added: ) Well I basically took her meat sauce and made a few changes that made it much lower in fat without losing any of the flavor. I simply ommitted the butter and substituted ground turkey for the ground beef. I also boosted the vitamin content by adding some fresh sliced mushrooms to the sauce. If you don't like mushrooms feel free to add your favorite vegetable, like peppers or corn!… continue reading A hearty spaghetti and meat sauce dish without all the fat!

Thanksgiving has come and gone and I am sure we all ate our hearts out, but now comes the question of what to do with all that leftover turkey. One of my favorite soup recipes has always been Italian Wedding Soup. I like it so much because it is usually very hearty but doesn't leave you feeling weighed down. Normally the meatball is made of a beef and pork mixture, but I always make mine using ground turkey because it contains less fat and is healthier for you. So feel free to use your leftover Thanksgiving turkey or buy some ground turkey from the super market!

Risotto is one of those amazing Italian dishes that's been made in a very specific way for a very long time. There really is a method to the madnes. First, only certain types of rice can be used - short grain rice that gives off the most starch during cooking (traditionally, carnaroli or arborio). The rice grains need to be coated by a fat (oil or butter) and toasted with the fat to enhance the flavor and ensure that each grain of rice cooks evenly. Then, wine must be added and absorbed into the rice grains. The rice is then cooked very slowly over very low heat, adding one ladle of broth at a time and stirring almost constantly… continue reading easy, whole grain, butternut squash risotto. | 7 Comments

I have no idea when/why I became so ambitious, but I suddenly decided I was going to try to make a healthy version of a semifreddo. For those who have never tried it (or who don't watch Giada on the Food Network as much as I do), a semifreddo is an Italian dessert that's basically a frozen custard (it tastes sort of like ice cream cake). This was a pretty ambitious project for me because a) I've never made any semifreddo before, let alone a healthy version, and b) your typical semifreddo involves around 6-8 egg yolks and a cup or two of heavy cream.
The great thing about a semifreddo is that it's made in advance. It needs to set in… continue reading project semifreddo. | 2 Comments

So my husband has always loved chicken parmesan, but I have always stayed away from making it at home because of all the calories and fat that come with it. Between having to dip the chicken in eggs, frying it, and then covering it in cheese it made for a pretty unhealthy chicken dish. However, today I made a rather healthy chicken parmesan that utilizes whole wheat flour, egg whites, and low fat mozzarella cheese (and of course no butter or oil in the whole recipe)! Hope you like it! Joey seemed to love it, since he couldn't stop eating it :)
Chicken Parmesan (4 servings)
4 6 oz chicken breasts pounded to a 1/2… continue reading chicken parm without the harm | 8 Comments

Sometimes, when I'm trying to figure out ways to make recipes healthier, I ask myself "WWID?" - "What Would Italians Do?!" I love the way good Italian cooking can take simple, healthy ingredients and turn them into delicious, comforting meals without adding a lot of extra fat. So, with BBQ season well underway, that was sort of my inspiration with this potato salad. I decided to roast the potatoes to add flavor, and added artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers and capers. The capers give it great tartness (I love traditional potato salad with pickles in it...so it's the same type of flavor combo).
The best part of the salad - by far-